Bikini baristas arrested for allegedly exposing themselves for tips

Updated 3:42 pm, Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Correction: This story has been modified after the owner of TnA Latte called to say the business is not a bikini barista stand. See more below.

The owner and three employees of a bikini barista stand called "Java Juggs" in Edmonds have been arrested for investigation of exposing themselves to customers for big tips, Edmonds police said Thursday.

Sgt. Don Anderson said the department launched an investigation last October, after getting complaints about baristas exposing themselves at the stand. Officers posed as customers in plain clothes and took video recordings of baristas exposing themselves, Anderson said in a statement.

"Some of the violations involved physical contact with the barista in exchange for money," the statement said. Police did not make any video recordings available.

Java Juggs' owner, a 49-year-old Snohomish woman, was arrested last Thursday and booked into jail on suspicion of three prostitution counts and one count of permitting prostitution.

Police said the woman owns two other Java Juggs stands and that activity occured in all three stands.

"The employees worked a circuit," Anderson said. He did not know if the owner and employees had been charged.

For several years, Java Juggs has been part of a proliferation of bikini barista stands in Everett, where businesses have included "Grab-n-Go Bikini Hut," "Cowgirls," and "XOXO Espresso," which has advertised "daisy dukes" and "fantasy Fridays."

"Today was construction chick day," the reviewer wrote of the baristas' outfits. "I never knew safety vests could look so hot."

In contrast, Michelle McConnell, the owner of TnA Latte in Everett, said her business maintains a "respectful dress code." She said she named her business as a play on words to poke fun at other stands that she said have "lowered themseves just to make an extra few bucks."